HAMPTON — Growing up, the most important man in Elton Brown's life was his grandfather. And to this day, he honors him the best way possible. "Just to see him and his drive, he'd stop on every street corner and give people a dollar or take somebody to McDonald's for a meal," Brown said. "I kind of learned that early on. It's a blessing to be able to give back. " Which is why Brown, a former NFL lineman who is in his first season as a Phoebus assistant, started 1st and G.O.A.L.

HAMPTON — Growing up, the most important man in Elton Brown's life was his grandfather. And to this day, he honors him the best way possible. "Just to see him and his drive, he'd stop on every street corner and give people a dollar or take somebody to McDonald's for a meal," Brown said. "I kind of learned that early on. It's a blessing to be able to give back. " Which is why Brown, a former NFL lineman who is in his first season as a Phoebus assistant, started 1st and G.O.A.L.

Rookie Elton Brown of Hampton started nine of the Arizona Cardinals' 16 games this season, all at right guard, but missed seven because of a knee injury. The Cardinals finished 3-6 in games he started and 5-11 overall; he played the first seven contests and the last two. Brown, 23, listed at 6-feet-4 and 339 pounds, was selected in the fourth round (111th overall) of last year's NFL draft. Arizona coach Dennis Green wants to use Brown as a fulcrum to improve the Cardinals' average of 71 rushing yards per game, though Arizona passed for 277 per contest.

Elton Brown 's odyssey on the pro basketball circuit took a memorable turn in the 2009-10 season, when the 6-foot-9 post player from Newport News competed mostly in reserve but helped Brose Baskets capture the playoff championship in Germany's top league. According to eurobasket.com, Brown, 26, shot 55.7 percent from the field and averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 44 games for his team, which plays in the Bavarian city of Bamberg. He played 18.3 minutes per contest and hit 50.3 percent of his free throws.

Elton Brown 's odyssey on the pro basketball circuit took a memorable turn in the 2009-10 season, when the 6-foot-9 post player from Newport News competed mostly in reserve but helped Brose Baskets capture the playoff championship in Germany's top league. According to eurobasket.com, Brown, 26, shot 55.7 percent from the field and averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 44 games for his team, which plays in the Bavarian city of Bamberg. He played 18.3 minutes per contest and hit 50.3 percent of his free throws.

Like most high-profile athletes, Elton Brown expected the recruiting process to be all glitter and fun. He never considered the telephone calls, at all hours, from coaches, reporters and everybody else who just had to know one thing: Where was he going? Well, Brown hopes that's all over now. Dressed to kill and sitting in Warwick High's library with his mother and basketball coach, Brown announced what many had long considered a foregone conclusion: He's going to Virginia. "This whole process has been a very humbling experience," Brown said, reading from a prepared statement written on yellow notebook paper.

He didn't like the contact, so he gravitated toward the glamour positions. In pick-up football games, he insisted on being the quarterback. In basketball, he saw himself as Allen Iverson trapped in Shaquille O'Neal's body. Yet sooner or later, Elton Brown was bound to accept reality. And the reality is, you don't see a lot of quarterbacks or point guards tipping the scale at three bills. "By the time I got to high school, I had to play offensive line," said Brown, Virginia's starting right guard.

Predictably, the procession off the bus was slow. These were, after all, teenagers at 8:30 a.m., in early July. Can you say sleepwalk? "They're tired and sore," one coach remarked of the East high school all-stars as they trudged toward a practice for Friday's annual bash against the West at Darling Stadium. But where was Morgan Moses? Certainly the Parade All-American offensive tackle and University of Virginia signee would be easy to spot, all 6-foot-7, 330 pounds of him. Yet as player after player filed off the bus, pads slung over shoulders, there wasn't a behemoth in sight.

The latest destination in former Warwick High and Virginia Cavaliers standout Elton Brown's basketball odyssey produced a dramatic league championship -- in Israel, around some old rivals and friends from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Brown, a 6-foot-9 post player, helped his Hapoel Holon team edge Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 73-72 on May 29 in the Premier League championship game. Former Arkansas-Little Rock player Malik Dixon of Holon hit the winning shot with 2.3 seconds left to go against a team that had claimed the last 14 Israeli championships and 37 of the last 38. Brown was one of 11 players to receive honorable mention in Israel's 10-team top league.